Friday, March 4, 2011

The Arkansas Prosecuting Attorney's Association has announced its endorsement of Gov. Mike Beebe's prison reform bill — a giant measure to alter sentencing, beef up probation and parole and otherwise find ways to curb the growth in expensive prisons.

These meetings have resulted in changes that insure violent crimes, sex crimes, and major drug offenses could be punished in an appropriate manner, consistent with the original goals of Governor Beebe and the Working Group.

An Arkansas anti-abortion law is a phony. It's about ending abortion, not protecting women and a New York Times writer says it could present an important case for the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Donald Trump gave a remarkable interview to the New York Times yesterday in which he declared open season on the marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton's past infidelity. Seems like a loser, but I've been wrong before.

Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill alone among Arkansas's House delegation voted last week against a measure that provided $36.5 billion in disaster aid, a portion for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico as well as money for wildfire response and to support the flood insurance program.

The State Police say Brett McCullough, 52, of Hot Springs, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding a bicycle about 8:47 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 70 West (Airport Road) in Hot Springs.

Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Bart Virden of Morrilton, who narrowly survived attack ads by an outside partisan group supporting his opponent for re-election to a nonpartisan seat, doesn't intend to let the matter drop.

KFSM reports that the Benton County Election Commission will recount votes today in two squeaky state House races where incumbents are currently on top by scant margins.

The Arkansas Supreme Court continues to grapple, with divisions, on how to square new federal and state law on resentencing people who got life without parole sentences for capital crimes committed when they were minors.

Enjoy these photos from today's dedication and re-installation of a new Ten Commandments monument. The first iteration of the monument was installed last June but destroyed within the next 24 hours when it was rammed by a man in a Dodge Dart.